E 

39 


BANCROFT    LIBRARY 


HOPI    SHRINES    NEAR   THE    EAST 
MESA,  ARIZONA 

Sei^ 

Department  of  Middle 
American  Research 
Tulane  University  of 
Louisiana* 


,      BY 

J.  WALTER  FEWKES 


Reprinted  from  the  AMERICAN  ANTHROPOLOGIST  (N.  s.),  Vol.  8,  No.  2, 
April- June,  1906 


Lancaster,  Pa.,  U.  S.  A. 
The  New  Era  Printing  Company 
-1906 


DEPARTMENT  of  MIDDLE  AMERICAN  RESEARCH 

THE  TULANE  UNIVERSITY  of  LOUOSOANA 

NEW  OBQ.EANS 


Libraiy 


HOPI   SHRINES   NEAR  THE   EAST   MESA,  ARIZONA 
BY   J.    WALTER   FEWKES 

INTRODUCTION 

The  more  we  know  of  the  sociological  evolution  of  the  Pueblos, 
the  more  evident  it  is  that  the  increase  of  population  and  attendant 
modifications  in  culture  are  due  only  partially  to  internal  growth  or 
the  enlargement  of  existing  families.  Additions  of  new  clans  are 
most  vital  factors  in  producing  these  changes,  always  tending  to 
modify  more  or  less  the  culture  of  the  population  with  which  they 
have  become  incorporated.  Survivals  of  these  additions  may  be  de 
tected  in  cults,  language,  and  arts  of  the  component  people.  In  order 
rightly  to  estimate  the  modifications  resulting  from  successive  incor 
porations  of  other  clans  with  a  people,  it  is  important  to  recognize 
distinctive  culture  features  belonging  to  the  several  component  clans. 
This  can  be  done  by  determining  the  sites  of  their  former  habitations 
and  investigating  the  archeological  evidences  of  culture  contained  in 
them.1 

The  main  but  not  the  only  source  of  our  knowledge  of  the  mi 
grations  and  successive  halts  of  Hopi  clans  is  tradition,  which  indi 
cates  the  pueblos  (now  ruins)  that  have  been  occupied  by  them. 
Culture  objects  from  these  ruins  may  verify  or  disprove  tradition. 
Each  clan  added  to  a  Hopi  pueblo,  being  in  itself  a  unit,  has  its  own 
history,  that  may  be  regarded  as  independent  of  other  chronicles  of 
the  kind  up  to  the  time  of  its  fusion  into  general  Hopi  history. 

Some  of  the  characteristics  of  clan  culture  history  survive  among 
the  Hopi  to  the  present  day.  The  first  step  in  an  investigation  of 
Pueblo  culture  evolution  is,  then,  definitely  to  associate  ruins  with 
clans.  This  may  be  done  by  several  methods,  one  of  the  most  re 
liable  of  which  is  by  traditions. 

I  have  already  shown  how  certain  Hopi  clans  claim  ownership 
in  eagles'  nests  near  distant  ruins  and  how  this  claim  may  be  used 


1  Most  of  the  data  here  recorded  were  gathered  between  1890  and  1894,  while  the 
author  was  connected  with  the  Hemenway  Expedition. 

346 


347  AMERICAN  ANTHROPOLOGIST  [N.  s.,  8,  1906 

in  support  of  traditions.  There  is  a  similar  proprietorship  in  shrines 
and  springs1  near  ruins,  and  the  identification  of  their  present  owners 
may  aid  us  in  determining  what  clans  were  once  inhabitants  of  the 
pueblos  of  which  these  ruins  are  the  remains. 

In  order  to  indicate  the  importance  of  shrines  and  springs  in  a 
study  of  Pueblo  sociology,  let  us  take  for  an  example  the  clans  that 
survived  the  fall  of  Awatobi.  When  this  pueblo  was  destroyed  at 
the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century,  it  was  inhabited  by  at  least  four 
peoples  —  the  Awata  (Bow),  Honani  (Badger),  Buli  (Butterfly),  and 
Piba  (Tobacco).  It  would  appear  that  the  population  was  com 
posite  and  that  the  three  peoples  first  named  formed  the  nucleus  of 
a  population  which  was  joined  later  by  the  last  mentioned  (Tobacco), 
that  formerly  lived  south  of  Walpi  on  the  banks  of  the  Little  Col 
orado.  The  Bow,  Badger,  and  Butterfly  came  from  the  Rio  Grande 
valley  and  were  probably  of  either  Keresan  or  Tanoan  origin." 

In  the  dispersion  of  the  survivors  of  Awatobi  the  Bow  people 
went  to  the  Middle  mesa  and  the  Tobacco  to  Walpi,  while  the 
women  of  the  Badger  and  the  Butterfly  were  appropriated  by  the 
Oraibi.  Incidentally  it  is  instructive  to  note  that  some  of  the 
Badger  and  the  Butterfly  peoples,  returning  to  the  East  mesa, 
aided  the  Asa  in  founding  Sichomovi,  while  the  Bow  people  moved 
from  their  Middle  mesa  settlement  to  Walpi,  where  their  descend 
ants  still  live. 

A  few  years  ago  the  idols  of  the  Alosaka  at  Awatobi  were 
removed  from  their  shrines  and  carried  to  the  store  of  an  Indian 
trader,  the  late  Thomas  V.  Keam,  to  whom  they  were  offered  for 
sale.  It  was  then  learned  that  these  idols  were  especially  rever 
enced  by  the  descendants  of  the  Awatobi  clans  living  at  Mishong- 
novi,  for  almost  the  entire  population  of  this  pueblo  visited  Mr 


1  American  Anthropologist^  n.  s.,  II,  p.  690-707,  1900.  Every  clan  in  Walpi  has  a 
right  to  water  from  the  largest  springs,  but  individual  clans  claim  certain  springs,  espe 
cially  those  at  distant  ruins,  as  their  property. 

8  As  most  of  the  ruined  pueblos  on  the  Antelope  mesa  were  of  Keresan  origin,  it  is 
probable  that  Awatobi,  which  belongs  to  the  same  series,  was  founded  by  the  same  clans. 
At  least  we  may  logically  conclude  that  the  nucleus  of  that  historic  pueblo  came  from  the 
eastern  pueblos,  especially  as  this  conclusion  harmonizes  with  the  evidences  that  the 
Hopi  culture  was  in  the  first  instance  of  eastern  origin  and  therefore  more  modern  than 
that  of  the  Rio  Grande  pueblos 


FEWKES]  HOPI  SHRINES  NEAR    THE   EAST  MESA  348 

Keam  and  begged  for  their  idols.  He  delivered  them  to  the  priests 
and  they  were  carried  back  to  the  Middle  mesa.1  It  was  discovered 
also  at  that  time  that  several  of  the  Awatobi  shrines  and  springs 
were  still  used  ceremonially  by  certain  of  the  Hopi  clans  who 
claimed  them  as  their  property. 

These  facts  might  be  paralleled  in  the  history  of  many  other 
mounds  near  the  East  mesa.  Even  remote  ruins  like  Homolobi, 
Kicuba,  and  Lenyanobi  are  still  regarded  as  the  property  of  the 
clans  that  once  inhabited  them,  and  their  old  shrines  and  springs 
still  figure  in  the  ceremonials  of  those  clans. 

Another  instance  of  the  verification  of  a  clan  migration  by 
ownership  and  position  of  a  sacred  spring  is  suggested  by  Sisibi, 
near  the  Moki  buttes.  This  spring  lies  on  the  trail  taken  by  the 
Southern  people  of  Walpi  in  their  migration  to  that  pueblo  from 
Homolobi.  It  is  visited  annually  by  the  chief  of  the  Kwakwantu, 
a  warrior  priesthood  of  Southern  clans,  for  sacred  water  used  in  the 
New  Fire  ceremony. 

Several  clans  are  said  to  have  migrated  separately  or  together 
from  Homolobi  northward  to  Walpi.  Among  these  were  the 
Cloud,  Lizard,  Tobacco,  Rabbit,  and  possibly  the  Young  Corn. 
The  Flute,  Sun,  Squash,  and  others  had  preceded  them  in  this  mi 
gration.  When  some  of  the  clans  came  to  a  place  called  Koko- 
pelti  a  short  time  before  they  reached  the  Moki  buttes,  the  Young 
Corn  separated  from  the  others  and  then  or  a  little  later  the 
Tobacco  and  possibly  the  Lizard  went  to  Awatobi.  The  remainder 
continued  their  journey  to  a  pueblo  called  Pakatcomo,  later  to 
Tawapa,  and  ultimately  joined  the  Walpians.  After  the  destruction 
of  Awatobi  the  Tobacco  peoples  were  united  with  their  former 
kindred  in  Walpi. 

Judging  from  the  time  spent  relatively  in  the  manufacture  and 
consecration  of  prayer  emblems,  it  might  well  be  concluded  that 
these  objects  are  essential  features  of  every  considerable  Hopi 
ceremony.  As  it  rarely  happens  that  any  rite  is  complete  without 
the  introduction  of  these  objects,  their  correct  interpretation  is  a  key 


1  These  images  are  now  kept  in  a  cave  near  Mishongnovi,  and  are  probably  the  same 
as  those  figured  by  Dr  O.  Solberg  in  his  article  Ueber  die  Baho's  der  Hopi,  Archiv  f. 
Anthropol.^  bd.  IV,  no.  I,  fig.  5. 


349  AMERICAN  ANTHROPOLOGIST  [N.  s.,  8,  1906 

to  the  meaning  of  the  ceremony.  Their  form  and  character  vary  in 
different  rites,  as  may  be  seen  by  consulting  descriptions  of  dif 
ferent  festivals.  Appendages  to  these  objects  are  significant,  and 
each  type  has  a  prescribed  form  and  pigmentation.  Although 
varied  in  shape,  color,  and  the  materials  of  which  they  are  made, 
prayer  emblems  fall  into  several  types,  among  which  may  be 
mentioned  prayer  sticks,1  clay  images,  miniature  bowls,  artificial 
eggs,  meal,  tobacco,  and  food  of  various  kinds.  It  would  be  an 
important  contribution  to  science  to  describe  all  the  forms  they 
assume,  but  the  present  article  considers  more  especially  the  places 
where  these  offerings  are  deposited  and  incidentally  certain  other 
inclosures  where  sacred  objects  are  kept.  I  have  attempted  to 
enumerate  some  of  the  better  known  shrines  near  the  East  mesa 
and  have  pointed  out  their  distribution  in  that  neighborhood,  that 
this  knowledge  may  serve  as  a  guide  in  the  determination  of  shrines 
near  ruins  and  lead  to  a  more  complete  identification  of  the  clans 
that  once  inhabited  the  dwellings  now  represented  by  these  ruins. 

The  number  of  shrines2  near  the  East  mesa  is  too  large  to  con 
sider  exhaustively  at  this  time,  so  it  will  be  necessary  to  choose  a 
few  of  the  more  significant  for  description.  There  are  others,  01 
course,  including  many  at  the  other  mesas  that  are  here  omitted. 

In  one  sense  any  inclosure  in  which  ceremonial  objects  are  pre 
served  is  regarded  by  the  Hopi  as  a  place  for  prayer  offerings. 
Thus  a  cave  or  a  recess  in  a  cliff  where,  for  instance,  the  jars  used 
in  washing  the  reptiles  in-  the  mysterious  rites  of  the  Snake  dance 
are  kept,  or  the  cavern  where  certain  dilapidated  effigies  of  plumed 
serpents  are  stored,  is  considered  with  a  certain  amount  of  rever 
ence.  The  same  is  true  of  the  cleft  in  the  rock  containing  the 
Apache  scalps  and  of  the  burial  places  of  the  eagles.  It  is  not  pos 
sible  to  draw  a  strict  line  of  demarcation  between  cemeteries  and  true 
shrines. 

Among  the  Hopi  a  shrine  varies  in  form  and  construction  from 
an  inclosure  in  which  an  idol  is  permanently  preserved  to  a  simple 

1  At  my  suggestion  Dr  Solberg  has  lately  made  a  collection  of  Hopi  prayer  sticks, 
which  he  has  described  in  a  special  article  (op.  cit.)  in  which  several  shrines  are  like 
wise  figured. 

•The  word  shrine  is  used  broadly  to  designate  a  devotional  place  other  than  the  cere 
monial  chambers,  or  kivas. 

AM     ANTH.,  N.  S..  8-23. 


FEWKES]  HO  PI  SHRINES  NEAR    THE   EAST  MESA  350 

cleft  in  the  side  of  a  bowlder  or  cliff.  One  of  the  simplest  Pueblo 
shrines  is  a  pile  or  a  ring  of  stones  s6  placed  as  to  form  an  inclosure 
for  the  reception  of  offerings.  Abandoned  shrines  near  inhabited 
pueblos  are  not  uncommon,  new  shrines  being  constantly  made  as 
new  conditions  may  seem  to  demand  them.  The  situation  of 
shrines  is  determined  by  convenience  and  by  safety  of  access  as  well 
as  by  other  considerations.  Predatory  tribes  have  sometimes  raided 
so  close  to  the  Hopi  mesas  that  shrines  could  not  be  visited  with 
out  danger.  When  a  new  shrine  is  made  to  replace  an  old  one  the 
latter  is  still  regarded  with  reverence,  and  in  it  offerings  are  still 
placed  at  stated  times  —  a  custom  that  persists  even  after  the  idols 
or  other  sacred  objects  have  been  removed.  Thus  the  figurines  of 
the  Alosakas  l  no  longer  occupy  their  ancient  crypt  at  the  ruin  of 
Awatobi,  yet  their  former  home,  the  old  shrine,  is  still  treated  with 
reverence.  Talatumsi,  the  Walpi  equivalent  of  the  Earth  goddess, 
called  the  Alosaka  woman,  formerly  had  a  shrine  to  the  north  of 
Hano,  but  the  site  was  too  exposed  to  hostile  Utes  and  Apaches  ; 
the  idol  was  removed  to  its  present  home,  but  at  the  New  Fire  cere 
mony  each  year  offerings  are  still  placed  in  the  old  shrine. 

Of  the  several  types  of  Hopi  shrines  the  most  complicated  and 
characteristic  is  that  which  contains  an  idol  or  image  to  which  the 
shrine  is  especially  dedicated.  The  shrine  of  Talatumsi  is  the  best 
known  of  this  type.  A  majority  of  the  larger  shrines  are  of  the 
simplest  construction,  consisting  of  stones  arranged  in  rings  with  a 
large  rock  on  one  side  forming  a  back.  Both  simple  and  complex 
shrines  often  contain  stones,  concretions,  and  various  other  oddly- 
shaped  substances. 

In  the  theogony  of  the  Hopi,  as  among  other  agricultural  peo 
ples  whose  ideas  are  not  modified  by  acculturation,  living  beings  are 
supposed  to  have  sprung  from  a  preexisting  earth,  the  origin  of 
which  is  beyond  their  philosophy  and  therefore  not  considered  by 
them.  The  earth  in  their  conception  always  existed,  and,  following 
the  analogy  of  growing  vegetation,  organisms  grew  out  of  the  earth 

1  The  Alosakas,  of  which  there  were  two  images  at  Awatobi,  one  representing  the 
male,  the  other  the  female,  are  equivalents  of  the  Hopi  Muyifiwu-taka  and  Muyinwu- 
wiiqti.  The  former  would  appear  to  be  a  sky  god,  the  latter  an  earth  goddess.  In  a 
way  both  are  rightly  designated  germ  gods,  clan  designations  of  conceptions  which  find 
expression  under  many  different  names. 


351  AMERICAN  ANTHROPOLOGIST  [N.  s.,  8,  1906 

or  were  born  like  animals.  The  earth  to  them  is  not  a  creator  but  a 
mother,  the  genetrix  of  lesser  gods  and  animals,  and  the  ancestor 
or  first  of  the  human  race.  In  order  to  carry  out  the  analogy  of 
conception  or  gestation,  a  mythic  father,  or  Sky-god,  the  male 
principle  of  nature,  was  assumed  and  personified  as  an  ancient 
Pueblo  god  of  highest  rank.  This  god,  like  the  personation  of  the 
earth,  has  various  synonyms  or  equivalent  designations,  the  multi 
plicity  of  which  would  appear  to  indicate  a  most  complicated  and 
advanced  mythology,  although  in  reality  it  is  quite  simple.  The 
Earth  mother  has  also  many  names  derived  from  different  clans  or 
attributes.  We  find  the  Sky-god  called  Heart  of  the  Sky.  Sun- 
god,  Plumed  Serpent,  and  by  numerous  other  designations.  No 
satisfactory  interpretation  of  Pueblo  mythology  is  possible  before 
the  synonymy  of  the  gods  shall  have  been  worked  out  better  than 
at  present. 

The  Hopi  have  several  shrines  erected  to  such  earth  beings  as 
Spider-woman,  Tuwapontumsi,  Muyinwu,  and  Masauu.  Sky  and 
Sun  gods  likewise  have  their  places  for  prayer  offerings.  Many 
shrines  are  dedicated  to  the  Rain  gods,  or  Katcinas,1  ancestors  of 
the  clans.  So  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  discover,  there  is  no  spe 
cial  shrine  of  the  warriors  similar  to  that  of  the  members  of  the 
Zuni  Priesthood  of  the  Bow  on  the  great  mesa  near  their  pueblo. 
The  places  of  offerings  to  the  Plumed  Serpent,  a  Sky-god  introduced 
from  the  south,  are  springs,  not  true  shrines. 

SHRINES  TO  SPECIAL  SUPERNATURALS 

Talatiimsi. — This  personage,  a  synonym  of  the  Alosaka-wiiqti, 
or  the  Alosaka  woman2  of  Awatobi,  has  two  shrines  at  the  East 


1  The  word  katcina  is  apparently  derived  from  pueblos  of  Keresan  or  Tanoan  stocks. 
A  katcina  is  sometimes  called  a  "  sitter,"  referring  possibly  to  the  custom  of  burying  the 
dead  in  a  sitting  posture.  Among  the  Zuni,  as  with  the  Hopi,  the  katcinas  are  ancestral 
gods  that  are  supposed  to  live  in  an  underworld  or  mythic  dwelling  under  or  associated 
with  a  lake  or  spring.  These  ancestral  spirits  are  personated  from  time  to  time  in  sacred 
dances,  when  prayers  are  said  to  the  personators  vicariously  for  rain  and  other  blessings. 
According  to  Mr  H.  R.  Voth,  the  word  katci  means  "living"  ;  possibly  katcina  is 
from  X'a/tv,  "living,"  and  nat  "parent." 

*  The  Tewa  equivalent  of  Talatumsi  is  called  by  them  Cenikwia,  the  Horn-woman 
(/a/a,  "dawn"  \tnmsiortumasi,  "elder  sister"  or  "woman").  Tumas  Katcina,  known 
at  Oraibi  as  the  man  who  bears  the  helmet  with  crow  feathers,  is  apparently  the  elder 


FEWKES]  HOP  I  SHRINES  NEAR    THE  EAST  MESA  352 

mesa,  one  of  which  (pi.  xxvi,  fig.  a)  is  situated  on  the  terrace  among 
a  pile  of  rocks  to  the  left  of  the  so-called  ladder  trail l  from  Tawapa 
to  Walpi.  The  image  of  this  being  is  ordinarily  seated  in  a  stone 
inclosure  or  cleft  of  the  rocks  between  two  bowlders,  whose  entrance 
is  closed  by  a  wall  of  small  stones  and  is  opened  only  when  the 
shrine  is  visited  for  ceremonial  purposes.  Talatumsi  plays  an  im 
portant  role  in  the  New  Fire  ceremony  and  her  image  is  carried  to 
the  mesa  top  quadrennially  when  the  rites  elsewhere  described2  are 
performed  before  the  shrine. 

Tuwapofttumsi.  —  The  best  known  shrine  of  this  Earth-woman 
is  situated  to  the  left  of  the  trail  leading  from  Walpi  to  Mishongnovi, 
just  below  the  ruin  Kisakobi,  or  Old  Walpi.  It  is  a  simple  box- 
shaped  inclosure  (pi.  xxvi,  fig.  £),  or  rude  crypt,  made  of  slabs  of 
rock  standing  on  edge,  open  at  the  top  and  on  one  side.  Within 
the  inclosure  are  a  log  of  petrified  wood,  and  other  objects  of  stone. 
Offerings  are  presented  at  this  shrine  in  the  New  Fire  ceremony  in 
November,  as  elsewhere 2  described.  At  this  time  the  whole  ruin 
of  Old  Walpi  is  regarded  as  one  great  place  for  offerings,  and  after 
a  procession  around  the  mounds  has  been  made  by  the  two  Fire 
societies,  offerings  are  placed  in  the  shrines.  The  Earth-woman 
above  mentioned  is  sometimes  called  Tawakiitcmana,  or  Sun-white 
Maid,  and  the  concept  is  known  by  various  other  names  also. 

Slirine  of  Salt  Woman.  —  Light  is  thrown  on  the  situation 
of  Hopi  shrines  by  a  study  of  trips  made  by  this  people  to  the 
Grand  canyon  to  obtain  salt.  At  that  time  they  carried  offer 
ings  to  the  Woman  of  the  Hard  Substance,  sometimes  called  the 
Salt  woman,  who  had  a  shrine  in  or  near  the  canyon.  So  far  as  I 
can  trace  traditions,  it  would  seem  that  the  Spaniard  Cardenas  in 
I  540  followed  the  same  trail  that  the  Hopi  still  use  when  they  visit 


sister  of  the  Katcinas.  She  is  associated  with  the  child-floggers,  called  at  Walpi  the 
Tunwup  Katcinas,  at  Oraibi  the  Ho  Katcinas.  These  and  many  other  duplications  of 
names  of  the  same  god  among  the  Hopi  are  very  often  perplexing  in  a  study  of  their 
mythology. 

lrrhe  ladder  trail  is  the  steepest  of  all  the  routes  leading  from  the  terrace  into  Walpi 
and  is  almost  precipitous  at  one  point  where  a  stone  stairway  replaces  a  former  ladder. 
This  trail  passes  between  two  conspicuous  stone  pinnacles  before  entering  the  small  court 
in  which  the  Monkiva  is  situated.  Its  name  is  derived  from  the  old  ladder  once  used  at 
the  steep  part  of  the  ascent,  but  now  abandoned. 

2  The  New  Fire  Ceremony  at  Walpi,  American  Anthropologist,  n.  s.,  II,  1900. 


353  AMERICAN  ANTHROPOLOGIST  [N.  s.,  8,  1906 

the  Havasupai  Indians  in  Cataract  canyon,  or  practically  part  of  the 
old  route  used  in  these  excursions  after  salt.  This  trail  apparently 
crosses  the  Little  Colorado  not  far  from  the  Moenkopi  trail  at  Tan 
ner  crossing,  a  few  miles  below  Black  falls.  The  route  with  Hopi 
names  attached,  as  given  to  me  by  one  of  the  Indians,  will  be  con 
sidered  in  another  article. 

It  is  said  that  before  gathering  the  salt  which  hung  from  the 
cliffs  in  the  form  of  "  icicles,"  the  Hopi  deposited  prayer  sticks, 
one  before  the  image  of  the  Salt  goddess  and  the  other  before  that 
of  the  God  of  War.  It  was  their  custom  to  allow  themselves  to 
be  suspended  over  the  edge  of  the  cliffs  by  ropes,  in  order  that  they 
might  break  off  the  salt  "  icicles  "  and  transfer  them  to  their  sacks. 

Great  Masauu  Shrine.  —  One  of  the  best  known  of  all  the 
shrines  at  the  East  mesa  is  the  Great  Masauu  shrine,  situated 
among  the  foot-hills  west  of  the  mesa,  near  the  main  trail  to  Walpi. 
This  shrine,  as  shown  in  the  accompanying  plate  (xxvn,  fig.  g), 
has  a  rock  on  one  side  but  is  made  up  largely  of  twigs  and  branches 
that  have  been  thrown  upon  it  by  those  passing  with  firewood.  In 
the  same  shrine  may  likewise  be  found  small  clay  vessels,  prayer 
sticks,  and  various  other  offerings.  These  are  not  confined  to  the 
shrine  but  are  found  also  in  front  of  the  opening,  as  in  the  case  of 
the  small  bowl  shown  in  the  figure. 

Small  Masauu  Shrine.  —  Along  the  top  of  a  ridge  forming  the 
eastern  border  of  the  sand  dunes  near  Isba,  north  of  the  peach- 
trees,  are  four  piles  of  stones  (pi.  xxvi,  fig.  d)  mixed  with  small 
fragments  of  wood.  These  occur  at  intervals  alongside  the  old 
trail,  now  abandoned,  from  the  valley  to  Hano  ;  in  former  days 
those  setting  out  to  gather  wood  on  returning  with  their  loads  threw 
on  the  piles  offerings  to  the  god  Masauu  in  the  belief  that  by  so 
doing  they  avoided  fatigue. 

In  ancient  times  the  annual  wood  gathering  in  November,  just 
about  the  time  of  the  New  Fire  ceremony,  was  the  occasion  of  the 
exhibition  of  an  interesting  custom  that  still  survives  at  the  East 
mesa.  The  last  time  I  observed  it  was  at  the  close  of  November, 
1900,  when  the  events  here  narrated  occurred.  On  the  28th  many 
men  of  Walpi  started  for  the  wooded  mesas  about  six  miles  north 
of  the  ruin  Sikyatki.  Early  on  the  morning  of  the  2Qth  the  town 


AMERICAN    ANTHROPOLOGIST 


N.   8.,  VOI  .  8,    PL.   XXVI 


HOPI    SHRINES 
a,  Shrine  of  Talatumsi.     /',  Shrine  of  Tuwapontumsi.     c,  Coyote  trap,     d,  Masauii  shrine. 


FEWKES]  HOP!  SHRINES  NEAR    THE  EAST  MESA  354 

crier,  or  the  chief,  from  the  top  of  the  highest  house  in  Walpi  gave 
notice  to  the  girls  of  the  pueblo  to  don  their  finery  and  proceed 
down  the  trails  to  meet  the  returning  wood  gatherers.  About  the 
middle  of  the  forenoon  several  venerable  chiefs  gathered  at  the  spring 
Monwiba,  and  later  went  to  a  knoll  called  Mancitcomo,  where  girls 
from  the  pueblos  had  collected  in  considerable  numbers,  all  dressed 
in  their  best  clothing.  Among  the  patriarchs  who  gathered  there 
were  Kwatcakwa,  the  sun-chief,  Hofiyi,  the  speaker-chief,  Hayi,  and 
Pautiwa,  the  warrior-chief.  At  Wala  the  speaker-chief  laid  on 
the  trail  a  cotton  string  with  feather  attached  and  drew  a  line  of 
meal  on  the  ground  as  symbolic  of  opening  the  trail  to  the  pueblo 
for  the  returning  wood  gatherers.  The  old  men  kindled  a  small 
fire  and  smoked,  quietly  awaiting  the  wood  gatherers,  who  soon 
appeared  and  were  greeted  with  a  "thank  you."  As  each  group 
appeared,  one  or  another  of  the  maidens  would  run  out  and  present 
her  chosen  youth  with  a  small  package  of  corn  mush  (sowibi).  If 
he  took  it  the  maiden  followed  him  along  the  trail  to  the  mesa  top. 
In  this  way  the  maidens  showed  their  preferences  for  certain  youths, 
generally  for  those  to  whom  they  were  betrothed,  or  in  some  in 
stances  openly  expressed  their  preferences  for  the  first  time.  Mar 
ried  women  take  no  part  in  this  custom  for  obvious  reasons. 

After  all  the  wood  gatherers  had  passed,  each  of  the  old  men 
gathered  a  bundle  of  greasewood,  threw  it  on  his  back,  and  pro 
ceeded  up  the  trail.  As  the  crowd  approached  the  town,  a  con 
siderable  number  of  people  had  gathered  on  the  house  tops  of  Hano 
to  watch  the  proceedings,  and  amid  much  laughter  the  loaded 
burros,  with  their  happy  drivers  followed  by  the  bashful  maids, 
passed  through  the  pueblo.  Formerly  this  custom  was  observed 
by  many  people,  but  at  present  the  number  of  participants  is  but 
small.  It  is  said  that  in  old  times  a  procession  of  this  kind  yearly 
passed  the  four  piles  of  stones  and  twigs  above  described  when  it 
returned  to  the  pueblo. 

There  are  numerous  other  small  shrines  of  this  kind  near  the 
East  mesa,  some  of  which  are  collections  of  small  stones  thrown 
there  bypassing  Indians,  others  stones  deposited  in  natural  crevices 
of  bowlders  or  cliffs.  In  the  same  category  may  be  placed  also  the 
rock  called  Masowa,  or  Skeleton  Stone,  situated  about  halfway 


355  AMERICAN  ANTHROPOLOGIST  [N.  s.,  8,  1906 

between  Tawapa  and  the  elevation  to  the  left  of  the  eastern  trail 
leading  to  Hano,  upon  which  stands  the  house  purchased  from 
Polakka,  a  Tewa  Indian,  and  for  a  long  time  occupied  by  officials 
of  the  Government. 

Plumed  Serpent  Cult.1  —  This  cult  appears  among  the  inhabitants 
of  the  East  mesa  pueblos  in  two  distinct  forms,  that  of  Hano  and 
that  of  Walpi.  The  former  is  the  Tanoan,  the  latter,  the  Hopi 
variant.  One  came  from  the  east,  the  other  from  the  south.  The 
Plumed  Serpent  cult  is  a  form  of  sky  or  sun  worship  introduced 
into  Walpi  by  the  religious  fraternities  of  the  Cloud,  the  Flute,  and 
other  southern  clans.  Effigies  of  this  serpent  are  employed  in  the 
Winter  Solstice  rites  of  these  people  and  in  the  March  dramatiza 
tions.  It  crops  out  likewise  in  the  New  Fire  ceremony  when  mem 
bers  of  the  Kwakwantu,  a  warrior  society,  carry  wooden  slats  rep 
resenting  plumed  serpents,  and  their  chief  bears  an  effigy  of  the  same 
monster,  made  of  the  stalk  of  the  agave  plant.  The  spring  Tawapa, 
supposed  to  be  the  home  of  the  Plumed  Serpent,  no  doubt  received  its 
name,  Sun  spring,  from  the  connection  of  sun  and  serpent  worship. 

In  the  dramatization  that  occurs  at  the  East  mesa  every  March, 
the  Tewa  and  the  Hopi  employ  effigies 2  of  these  reptiles  made  of 
cloth,  skins,  and  gourds.  Formerly  these  effigies  when  not  in  use 
were  kept  in  caves  outside  the  pueblos,  but  of  late  intramural  recep 
tacles  have  been  made  for  them.  The  effigies  of  the  Plumed 
Serpents  of  Hano  were  formerly  kept  in  a  small  cave  on  the  west 
side  of  the  mesa  near  the  ruin  at  the  mound  Tukinobi,  but  they  are 
now  concealed  in  four  jars  in  the  home  of  the  Tobacco  clan.  The 
extramural  crypt  or  "home"  contains  fragments  of  old  abandoned 
effigies,  hoops,  cloth,  and  broken  gourds,  with  fragments  of  wood 
and  pieces  of  cord,  and  is  occasionally  visited  by  priests  who  some 
times  make  offerings  at  that  place. 


irrhe  Horned,  or  Plumed,  Serpent  cult,  was  widely  distributed  in  Mexico,  the 
Pueblo  area,  and  among  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  the  Mississippi  valley.  It  is  a  form  of 
sun  and  sky  worship,  and  is  almost  universally  said  to  have  been  brought  to  Walpi  from 
the  mythic  land  in  the  south  called  Palatkwabi.  The  horn  is  constantly  represented  on 
the  head  of  figures  of  this  serpent,  feathers  being  less  constant. 

*  I  was  repeatedly  warned  not  to  touch  these  effigies,  even  when  they  were  not  in 
use.  Women  never  allowed  even  their  garments  to  come  into  contact  with  the  effigy  of 
the  Great  Snake. 


AMERICAN    ANTHROPOLOGIST 


M.  8.,  VOL.  8,  PL.  XXVII 


HOPI    SHRINES 

e,  Sun  shrine.     /",  Warrior  shrine  at  entrance  to  Walpi.    g,  Shrine  of  Wukomasauu.     /,  Pictograph  ot  mountain 

lion,     h,  Snake  shrine. 


FEWKES]  HOP  I  SHRINES  NEAR    THE  EAST  MESA  356 

Sumaikoli  Shrine.  —  Several  men  at  the  East  mesa  belong  to  a 
sacerdotal  society  called  the  Yayas.  They  claim  to  be  able  to  cure 
diseases  of  certain  kinds  and  the  stones  they  tell  of  their  necromancy 
are  past  all  belief.  In  treating  the  sick  they  make  use  of  heat, 
ashes,  or  other  products  of  fire  and  most  of  their  jugglery  is  with 
firebrands,  so  that  one  would  not  be  far  astray  in  calling  the  Yaya 
a  Fire  society ;  hence  I  have  spoken  of  their  biennial  festival  as  the 
Little  Fire  ceremony.  They  kindle  fire  with  two  sticks,  and  at  the 
time  a  row  of  masks  called  the  Sumaikoli  and  Kawikoli,  a  fetish  of 
the  Earth  goddess,  Kokyanwiiqti,  the  Spider-woman,  and  other 
objects  are  arranged  in  the  form  of  an  altar.  Perhaps  the  most 
significant  and  characteristic  ceremonial  object  employed  by  the 
Yaya  is  a  wooden  framework,  called  by  Mrs  Stevenson  a  "  charm." 
This  is  carried  in  the  hand  in  the  manner  shown  in  my  representa 
tions  of  the  Sumaikoli  and  Kawikoli.1  Two  of  these  "charms" 
were  obtained  by  Mr  Stewart  Culin  in  a  collection  from  the  Canyon 
de  Chelly.  These  specimens,  now  in  the  Brooklyn  Institute  Mu 
seum,  possibly  belonged  formerly  to  the  Asa  clan,  who  claim  once 
to  have  inhabited  the  ruin  near  which  these  objects  were  found.  If 
so,  there  is  no  doubt  of  the  late  occupancy  of  some  of  the  clirF- 
dwellings  of  the  Canyon  de  Chelly,  as  the  Asa  moved  to  this  canyon 
in  quite  recent  times. 

It  would  appear  that  the  Sumaikoli  ceremony  was  brought  to 
the  Hopi  by  eastern  Pueblo  clans,  and  I  am  inclined  to  attribute  its 
introduction  to  the  Asa  or  to  some  Hano  peoples  supposed  to  be 
Tanoan.  Mrs  Stevenson  has  described  the  Sumaikoli  and  Kawikoli 
(Saiapa)  as  they  are  personated  in  Zuni,  where  the  cult  is  much 
more  elaborate  than  at  Hano  or  Walpi.  The  Sumaikoli  cult  seems 
likewise  to  have  been  added  to  the  original  culture  of  the  Zuni  since 
they  settled  in  the  Zuni  valley  or  while  their  home  was  farther  down 
the  Little  Colorado.2 


1  The  Lesser  New  Fire  Ceremony,  American  Anthropologist,  ill,    1901  ;    Twenty- 
second  Rep.  J3ttr.  Am.  Ethnol.,  pi.  xxxv,  p.  96.     Like  so  many  other  Hopi  ceremonies, 
the  Sumaikoli  is  of  Keresan  origin. 

2  The  Sumaikoli  apparently  originated  at  Cipia,   an  ancient  Keres  habitation  near 
Isleta  or  Laguna,  New  Mexico,  from  which  it  spread  to  Zuni  and  to  the  Hopi  mesas  with 
the  possible  exception  of  Oraibi.     This  appears  to  be  one  of  many  ceremonial  personages 
common  to  the  Hopi  and  the  Zuni  that  were  not  derived  one  from  the  other  but  arose 


357  AMERICAN  ANTHROPOLOGIST  [x.  s.,  8,  1906 

Just  opposite  an  old  house  in  Hano,  where  once  lived  the  sun- 
priest  who  was  also  chief  of  the  Sumaikoli,  situated  on  the  eastern 
rim  of  the  mesa,  there  are  a  few  small  stones  forming  an  inclosure 
in  which  are  biennially  deposited  the  prayer  sticks  of  the  priests  at 
the  Sumaikoli  ceremony.  The  shrine,  called  a  sun  shrine,  receives 
other  offerings  also,  but  that  made  to  the  sun  by  the  Yaya  priests  is 
conspicuous.  This  priesthood  makes  offerings  also  to  the  moon, 
to  Masauu,  and  to  the  six  world  "quarters" — north,  west,  south, 
east,  above,  and  below.  Such  offerings  consist  of  feathered  strings, 
some  of  which  are  tied  to  an  emblem  representing  the  sun. 

The  Sumaikoli  and  Kawikoli  masks  of  Hano  are  kept  in  a  dark 
room  on  the  ground  floor  of  the  old  sun  house  of  that  pueblo. 
They  differ  somewhat  in  symbolism  from  those  of  Wai  pi.1 

Sun  Shrine  on  Trail  to  Katcinaki.  —  Katcinaki,  or  the  Katcina 
house,  is  a  shallow  cavern  situated  nearly  under  Sichomovi,  half 
way  between  the  edge  of  the  mesa  and  the  surface  of  the  terrace. 
This  is  the  place  where  men  personating  the  katcinas  unmask  and 
where  they  have  their  mid-day  dinner.  Here  is  a  small  shrine  in 
which  ceremonial  deposits  are  placed  at  times.  The  trail  leading  to 
it  from  the  mesa  top  passes  over  the  east  rim  of  the  mesa  about 
halfway  between  Walpi  and  Sichomovi  and,  after  descending  a  few 
feet,  bifurcates,  one  branch  forming  the  main  trail  to  Sun  spring. 
Overlooking  this  trail  as  it  leaves  the  mesa  is  a  projecting  spur  of 
the  mesa  edge  upon  which  is  situated  the  Eastern  Sun  shrine  of 
Walpi.  This  shrine,  shown  in  the  accompanying  figure  (pi.  xxvn, 
fig.  e),  is  filled  with  offerings  at  the  Winter  Solstice  ceremony  and 
is  a  receptacle  for  prayer  sticks  and  feather  offerings  at  other  festi 
vals  also. 

Talaviwa. — This  shrine  is  situated  on  the  extreme  point  of  the 
cliff  above  Wala,  on  the  trail  from  the  Isba  to  Hano.  Near  it  are 
the  markings  in  the  edge  of  the  cliff  through  which  the  Tewa  formerly 
shot  their  arrows  at  invaders,  in  defence  of  their  town.  On  the  oc- 


from  a  common  source.  Like  the  Zuni  Kolowissi  and  the  Hopi  Paliiliikon,  both  were 
derived  from  clans  that  once  lived  on  the  Little  Colorado.  In  a  somewhat  similar  way 
the  concept  of  the  Flute  cultus  hero  in  these  two  modern  pueblos  may  have  been  inde 
pendently  derived  from  the  people  of  some  Flute  pueblo  now  in  ruins. 

1  See  Jour.  Am.  Ethnol.  and  Archil.,  II  ;  also,  American  Anthropologist,  n.  s., 
Ill,  1901. 


FEWKES]  HO  PI  SHRINES  NEAR    THE   EAST  MESA  358 

casion  of  my  visit  the  shrine  contained  several  fragments  of  petri 
fied  logs  but  no  prayer  sticks  or  other  offerings. 

Moniva. —  This  shrine  is  situated  on  the  mesa  top,  north  of  the 
main  cluster  of  Hano  houses,  and  not  far  from  the  remains  of  an  old 
kiva  adjoining  broken-down  walls  of  an  ancient  habitation  that  the 
Hano  ascribed  to  the  Katcina  clan.  Offerings  are  made  in  this 
shrine,  especially  by  the  Hano  priests  and  those  personating  the 
Hano  katcinas. 

Hano  Sun  Shrine. —  It  is  in  this  shrine  that  the  sun  priest  of 
Hano  places  his  sun  offerings  at  the  summer  solstice,  as  recorded  in 
my  account  of  this  ceremony.1 

Ancient  Hano  Sun  Shrine.  — There  is  an  old  sun  shrine  of  the 
Hano  clans  on  the  mound  south  of  the  trail  that  leads  from  the  foot 
hills  to  their  ancient  pueblo  on  Sikyaotcomo,  or  Yellow-rock  mound. 
It  is  said  that  one  of  the  earliest  Hano  settlements  crowned  this  ele 
vation  and  the  adjacent  remains  of  walls  support  the  tradition  that 
it  was  a  pueblo  of  considerable  size.  The  shrine  on  this  hill  is 
used  almost  exclusively  by  the  modern  Hano  priests  and  always 
contains  several  offerings.  It  consists  of  a  ring  of  stones  a  few  feet 
in  diameter,  open  on  the  east  side.  The  character  of  the  offerings 
varies  from  time  to  time.  The  following  objects  were  observed  just 
after  the  Winter  Solstice  ceremony  in  1900.  The  most  unusual 
form  of  these  offerings,  peculiar  to  Hano  so  far  as  I  know,  is  a  prayer 
stick  in  the  form  of  an  ancient  ladder,  which  is  elsewhere  figured, 
and  described  as  carried  by  the  Buffalo  maid  in  the  Buffalo  dance. 
This  is  a  flat  wooden  slat  serrated  on  each  edge  with  each  surface 
divided  by  a  meridian  band,  one  side  yellow,  the  other  green.  One 
end  is  continued  into  a  handle.  The  ladder  prayer  stick  is  used  in 
the  Winter  Solstice  ceremony  in  a  symbolic  way,  being  in  fact  an 
offering  to  the  sun,  which  is  supposed  to  be  weary  at  that  time  and 
in  need  of  assistance  in  climbing  from  his  home  in  the  under-world 
to  the  sky. 

Two  sun  prayer  sticks  of  Hano  priesthoods  were  likewise  seen 
in  this  shrine.  These  differ  from  the  Walpi  variety  in  having  a 
ferrule  incised  in  the  stick  representing  the  male,  a  face  being  painted 
on  the  stick  representing  the  female.  Both  Hano  and  Walpi  varie- 

1  Jour.  Am.  Ethnol.  and  Archtzol.,  II,  1893. 


359  AMERICAN  ANTHROPOLOGIST  [N.  s.,  8,  1906 

ties  are  double,  consisting  of  two  sticks  tied  together  about  mid 
way  in  their  length.  One  of  the  most  remarkable  offerings  in  this 
shrine  was  an  imitation  of  an  eagle's  egg,  made  of  wood.  It  was 
painted  white  with  black  spots  and  had  a  wish  feather  attached  to 
it.  These  imitation  eagle  eggs  are  "  signature  "  prayers  for  the  in 
crease  of  eagles  and  occur  also  in  other  sun  shrines.  They  are  made 
at  the  Winter  Solstice  ceremony. 

Shrine  of  A/tula.  —  Ahiila  appears  in  the  great  Katcina  ceremony 
called  the  Powamu,  or  yearly  celebration  of  the  return  of  the  kat- 
cinas,  or  divinized  ancestors.  This  personage,  representing  the  Sky 
god  or  male  parent  of  all,  visits  the  main  clan  homes  of  the  three 
villages  on  the  mesa,  symbolically  receiving  the  prayers  of  their  res 
idents  which  he  answers  in  a  similar  manner. 

There  is  a  conspicuous  shrine  situated  at  the  gap,  VVala,  near 
the  head  of  the  trail  from  Coyote  spring  to  Hano,  which  contains  a 
coiled  stone,  possibly  a  cast  of  a  cephalopod  shell.  Prayer  offerings 
are  placed  in  this  shrine  in  many  ceremonies  ;  here  Ahiil,  the  Sky 
god,  dresses  and  dons  his  mask  before  he  enters  the  Hopi  pueblo. 
The  coiled  stone  is  not  interpreted  as  representing  a  snake  idol,  as 
some  authors  have  suggested,  but  as  comparable  with  what  the 
Hopi  call,  as  translated,  a  "  heart -twister. "  1 

Tohkukii. — The  shrine  of  the  animal  footprints  is  situated  near 
the  trail  from  Walla  to  the  two  mounds  called  Kukiitcomo,  "  foot 
prints  mound."  This  shrine,  a  small  cairn  containing  stone  fragments 
and  other  objects,  takes  its  name  from  certain  depressions  in  the 
surface  of  the  rock  which  the  Hopi  liken  to  wildcat  tracks.  Several 
similar  markings  on  the  rock  nearby  seem  to  indicate  that  the  im 
pressions  especially  associated  with  the  shrine  were  but  one  speci 
men  of  many  of  these  impressions  to  be  found  in  the  neighborhood. 
In  this  shrine  was  observed  a  wooden  ball,  which  I  was  told  had 
been  placed  there  in  order  that  the  Rain  gods  might  pour  out  water 
from  the  clouds  in  torrents  which  should  fill  all  the  dry  water 
courses,  causing  the  adobe  balls  in  their  beds  to  be  rolled  along 


1  The  nearest  approach  to  it  in  form  is  the  coiled  stone  from  Awatobi  now  in  the 
Berlin  Museum,  to  which  institution  it  was  sold  by  the  late  Mr  Thomas  V.  Keam.  A 
coiled  wooden  object  known  as  "the  mother"  and  called  also  a  "heart-twister"  is 
prominent  on  the  Walpi  Mamzrauti  altar.  (See  American  Anthropologist,  in,  1892.) 


FEWKES]  HOPI  SHRINES  NEAR    THE  EAST  MESA  360 

like  the  stone  balls  which  were  kicked  by  the  young  men  in  the 
foot  races  held  in  early  spring.  These  races  are  thus  a  form  of 
prayer,  or  a  mental  suggestion  to  the  Rain  gods  to  aid  their  de 
scendants  with  copious  rains. 

Kwapihikpu.  —  This  shrine,  situated  on  the  north  side  of  a  hill 
called  Tukinobi  that  lies  about  midway  between  the  twin  mounds 
Kukutcomo  and  Wala,  is,  as  its  name  signifies,  an  eagle  shrine  ;  it 
contains  artificial  eagle  eggs,  especially  just  after  the  Winter  Sol 
stice  ceremony.  Near  the  shrine  are  the  remains  of  a  former  set 
tlement  of  the  Kokyan,  or  Spider  clan  of  the  Bear  people,  the  ear 
liest  arrival  in  Tusayan  and  a  very  old  settlement  on  the  East  mesa.1 

SHRINES  IN  THE  PLAZAS 

Almost  every  Hopi  pueblo  has  in  the  middle  of  its  plaza  a 
shrine  that  is  generally  one  of  the  best  made  of  these  structures  in 
the  neighborhood.  These  plaza  shrines  are  of  two  kinds  :  (i)  those 
whose  cavities  are  sunk  below  the  level  of  the  ground  and  always 
provided  with  a  stone  covering ;  and  (2)  those  with  lateral  walls 
above  the  surface  of  the  ground,  having  lateral  entrances.  Both 
types  are  sometimes  said  to  represent  symbolically  a  mythological 
opening  from  the  under-world  through  which  the  races  of  men 
emerged.  The  plaza  shrine  of  Walpi  belongs  to  the  former  of  these 
types,  the  corresponding  shrines  at  Sichomovi  and  Hano  to  the 
latter. 

A  plaza  shrine  of  the  second  type  is  a  simple  uncovered  stone 
box  made  of  slabs  of  rock  set  on  one  edge,  generally  with  the  east 
side  open.  Shrines  of  this  kind  are  usually  well  supplied  with 
prayer  emblems  of  different  sorts. 

Sipapu  is,  of  course,  a  general  name  for  the  entrance  to  the 
under-world,  and  is  applied  likewise  to  a  symbolic  representation  of 
the  same,  as  a  hole  in  the  floor  of  a  ceremonial  room  or  a  depression 
in  the  plaza.  The  plaza  shrine  at  Walpi  is  a  sipapu,  or  crypt  in  the 
floor  of  the  plaza,  and  is  covered  with  a  circular  stone  ordinarily 

1  Like  many  of  the  oldest  clans  of  the  Hopi  pueblos,  the  Spider  clan  is  said  to  have 
come  from  the  east.  According  to  some  of  the  most  reliable  traditionists,  the  Bear 
people  are  the  oldest  in  Walpi.  The  evidence  drawn  from  picture  writing  found  on  pot 
tery  taken  from  their  old  ruins  relates  them  to  former  inhabitants  of  Sikyatki,  whose 
ancestors  we  know  came  from  Jemez. 


36 1  AMERICAN  ANTHROPOLOGIST  [N.  s.,  8,  1906 

cemented  over  the  orifice.  This  stone  covering  is  removed  at  cer 
tain  ceremonies  when  offerings  are  deposited  in  the  cavity.  At  the 
New  Fire  ceremony  broad  lines  of  meal  are  drawn  on  the  ground 
from  it  across  the  plaza  in  the  direction  of  the  shrines  of  Talatumsi 
and  other  supernatural  beings.  These  are  either  pathways  of  influ 
ence  from  shrines  to  the  under-world,  the  abode  of  the  gods,  or 

vice  versa. 

WORLD  QUARTER  SHRINES 

In  certain  of  the  great  Hopi  festivals,  as  the  Snake  dance  and 
the  Flute  ceremony,  but  more  especially  in  the  former,  it  is  custom 
ary  for  the  priests  to  deposit  prayer  sticks  for  rain  in  temporary 
shrines  situated  in  the  four  cardinal  directions l  from  the  pueblo. 
These  sticks  are  made  for  seven  consecutive  days,  their  length  each 
day  being  less  than  on  the  preceding  day.  The  shrines  in  which 
the  offerings  are  placed  are  situated  at  distances  also  diminishing 
day  by  day  from  the  maximum  —  about  five  miles.  On  the  last 
day  prayer  sticks  no  longer  than  the  first  joint  of  the  finger  are 
placed  on  the  four  sides  of  the  entrance  to  the  room  in  which  the 
offerings  are  manufactured.  These  temporary  world  quarter  shrines 
and  the  offerings  placed  in  them  are  located  at  constantly  dimin 
ishing  intervals  in  order  to  toll  the  Rain  gods  from  their  distant 
homes  to  the  pueblo.2 

Snake  Shrines.  —  In  the  now  voluminous  literature  of  the  Hopi 
Snake  dance,  little  or  nothing  has  been  recorded  regarding  the  fate 
of  the  long  black  prayer  sticks  made  by  the  Snake  priests  and  car 
ried  by  them  in  the  dance.  At  the  close  of  the  dance  these  objects 
are  deposited  in  four  shrines  situated  at  the  base  of  the  mesa,  one 
in  each  of  the  four  world  quarters,  and  hence  called  the  North, 
West,  South,  and  East  snake  shrines.  It  may  be  mentioned  also 
that  in  the  disposition  made  of  the  snakes  after  the  dance  a  serpent 
is  always  left  in  each  of  these  shrines. 

The  Snake  shrine  of  the  North  is  situated  near  a  large  bowlder, 
not  far  from  a  house  owned  by  Kannu.  At  the  time  of  my  visit 
there  were  in  this  shrine  several  of  the  black  prayer  sticks  of  the 
priests.  The  Snake  shrine  of  the  West  is  a  cleft  in  the  pinnacle  of 

1  Determined  by  solstitial  sunrise  and  sunset,  not  by  polar  observations. 

2  Shrines  may  sometimes,  as  possibly  in  this  instance,  symbolically  represent  springs. 


FEWKES]  HOPI  SHRINES  NEAR    THE   EAST  MESA  362 

rock  at  the  extreme  south  end  of  the  East  mesa,  near  the  bowlder 
on  which  is  cut  the  pictograph  of  the  winged  being  Kwataka,  else 
where  described.  The  Snake  shrine  of  the  East  is  situated  not  far 
from  the  Buffalo  shrine,  to  the  right  of  the  road  as  one  approaches 
the  spring  called  Ispa,  Coyote  Water.  It  is  a  simple  cleft  in  the 
rock  which  bears  one  or  two  pictographs  of  serpents.  The  Snake 
shrine  of  the  South  is  situated  a  little  to  the  right  of  the  steep  trail 
to  Walpi,  just  below  the  sheep  corral  on  the  terrace.  Nearby  are 
pictographs  of  snakes  and  when  visited  the  shrine  was  found  to 
contain  several  snake  prayer  sticks. 

SHRINES  WITH  PICTOGRAPHS 

It  commonly  happens  that  pictographs  of  striking  character  are 
found  near  shrines.  None  of  these  is  more  instructive  than  the 
pictograph  of  Kwataka,  a  mythic  being  of  birdlike  form.  This 
being  is  regarded  by  the  Hopi  with  great  awe,  for  it  is  one  of  the 
most  dreaded  supernatural  personages  of  the  tribal  Olympus  and 
around  it  cluster  many  legends,  some  of  which  recount  how  it 
destroyed  and  devastated  old  pueblos.  Some  of  the  ruins  of  Ari 
zona  are  directly  associated  with  the  effects  of  its  rage.  In  certain 
respects  Kwataka  resembles  the  Zuni  Achiyalatopa,  "  the  knife 
feathered  being,"  figures  of  which  are  so  constant  on  certain  Zuni 
altars  but  which  I  have  never  found  on  a  Hopi  altar.  Kwataka 
was  worshipped  when  success  in  war  was  desired,  and  offerings  of 
medicine  were  placed  in  the  depression  indicating  the  location  of 
the  heart  of  this  supernatural  being.  He  was  regarded  as  the 
most  powerful  god  of  war.  There  is  a  very  good  pictograph  of 
Kwataka  in  the  foothills  at  the  south  end  of  the  East  mesa,  on  the 
face  of  a  large  bowlder.  The  accompanying  drawing  (figure  15) 
shows  that  the  Hopi  conception  of  him  was  a  giant  birdlike  being 
with  a  long  straight  beak  and  a  crest  of  feathers.  Remarkable 
features  not  partaking  of  the  birdlike  character  are  the  two  appen 
dages  rising  from  the  back  and  extending  forward.  These  are  said 
to  represent  baskets  in  which  prey  is  placed,  but  were  more  probably 
designed  for  basketware  shields  to  protect  the  god  from  his  foes. 
The  depressions  in  the  surface  of  the  rock  near  the  position  of  the 
heart,  where  the  war  medicine  was  placed,  are  indicated  in  the  illus- 


AMERICAN  ANTHROPOLOGIST 


[N.  s.,  8,  1906 


tration.  On  approaching  this  pictograph,  one  may  see  on  the  rock 
footprints  said  to  have  been  made  by  Tcavaiyo,  another  little-known 
monster  of  Hopi  mythology.  From  several  considerations  I  am 


FIG.  15.  —  Pictograph  of  Kwataka. 

led  to  regard  Kwataka  as  an  ancient  Sky  god,  the  rites  of  which 
have  not  yet  been  identified. 

The  Nakopan  Shrine  and  Pictograph.  —  This  shrine  is  situated 
about  two  miles  north  of  the  mounds  of  old  Sikyatki  and  the  ac 
companying  pictograph  commemorates  one  of  the  few  folk  tales 
that  have  come  down  to  our  time  from  that  prehistoric  village.  In 
my  paper  on  Hopi  Katcinas  will  be  found  the  story  of  the  personages 


AMERICAN    ANTHROPOLOGIST 


>l.   S.,   VOL.   8,   PL.   XXVII 


HOPI    SHRINES 
/,  Pictographs  near  snake  shrine.     *,  Katcina  shrine.     /,  Hopi  grave  with  offerings. 


FEWKES]  HOPI  SHRINES  NEAR    THE   EAST  MESA  364 

concerned,  with  graphical  representations  of  them,  but  no  one  has 
yet  described  the  shrine.  This  consists  of  a  shallow  cave  hollowed 
out  of  the  cliff  a  few  feet  below  the  edge  of  the  mesa,  on  the  side 

looking  toward  Sikyatki ;  it  con- 

Oo  o  o  o  o  o  o  o  GO  tains  two  stones  of  unusual  shape, 

°0  o  called  by  the  Hopi  the  two  War 

B  gods.  In  front  of  these  stones 
0  ^  1  there  were  when  I  visited  the 
o  place  several  rude  clay  vessels  and 

°  prayer  sticks.     The  pictograph  of 

•000*00000  the  Nakopan,  cut  on  the  surface 

U  ||  B  of  the  cliff  just  above  the  shrine, 

FIG.  1 6. —Pictograph  of  Nakopan.        consists  of  an    incised    figure    of 

rectangular  shape  indicating  where 

the  Nakopan  personages  were  seated,  the  maid  being  a  figure  of 
the  female  organ  as  shown  in  the  accompanying  illustration. 

The  pictograph  here  dealt  with  (figure  16)  is  said  to  show 
where  the  children  of  the  Sikyatki  woman  sat  when  she  left  them 
their  food.-  It  is  about  2^  feet  square,  the  seat  of  the  girl  being 
represented  by  the  female  sign  (a),  and  that  of  the  boy  by  parallel 
lines  (fr).  According  to  the  myth,  a  Sikyatki  mother  was  angry  be 
cause  her  children  begged  for  corn.  They  fled  to  the  cave  de 
scribed  above  and  the  mother,  who  had  entered  into  illicit  relations 
with  a  man  not  their  father,  left  food  for  them  daily  at  this  place.1 
Toko  Pictograph,  —  This  pictograph  (pi.  xxvn,  fig.  i),  which  oc 
curs  on  the  face  of  a  large  bowlder  situated  on  the  terrace  below 
Sichomovi,  represents  in  incised  outlines  a  mountain  lion  several 
feet  long.  The  heart  is  indicated  by  a  depression  in  which  meal  or 
other  offerings  may  be  placed,  but  they  are  placed  also  near  the 
base  of  the  rock.  This  bowlder  is  situated  not  far  from  the  site  of 
the  first  trader's  store2  at  the  East  mesa. 


1  Near  this  pictograph  two  Hopi  men  were  killed  by  the  Navaho  in  comparatively 
recent  times. 

2  The  earliest   trader  was   a  young  Mexican,   Roman  Vaca,   called   by  the   Hopi 
Lomana,  who  brought  his  stock  in  old  wooden-wheeled  wagons  over  a  road  the  signs 
of  which  are  still  to  be  seen.     Vaca  was  succeeded  by  Mr  William  Keam,  whom  the 
Hopi  call  "  Billee  "  and  from  whom  Reams  canyon  takes  its  name.     Mr  William  Keam 
was  succeeded  as  trader  by  his  brother,  the  late  Thomas  V.  Keam. 


365  AMERICAN  ANTHROPOLOGIST  [N.  s.,  8,  1906 

VARIOUS  OTHER  SHRINES 

Mucaiaski.  — In  this  shrine  —  a  cleft  in  the  rocks  to  the  right  of 
the  road  leading  from  the  plain  to  the  mesa,  about  opposite  the  old 
Polakka  house  —  an  offering  is  deposited  after  a  Buffalo  dance. 
The  place  is  only  a  few  feet  from  the  road  and  is  somewhat  hidden 
from  the  sight  of  passers-by.  The  offering  is  a  notched  stick  with 
attached  feathers  ;  it  is  called  the  "sun  ladder,"  a  figure  of  which 
is  published  in  an  article  on  Hopi  Minor  Ceremonies,  in  a  former 
volume  of  this  journal. 

The  Buffalo  dance  was  introduced  into  Walpi  by  Tanoan  clans 
from  the  Rio  Grande  and  was  formerly  celebrated  with  much  fervor. 
The  Hopi  say  that  it  was  carried  from  Walpi  to  Zuni l  about  1886 
and  that  they  brought  back  in  exchange  for  it  the  Howina,  a  Warrior 
or  Harvest  festival, which  is  occasionally  celebrated  on  the  East  mesa. 

Clowns'  Shrines.  —  The  Hopi,  like  the  Zuni,  have  an  order  of 
knob-headed  personations  called  Koyimsi  who  appear  in  certain 
of  their  ceremonial  dances.  These  are  commonly  called  clowns  and 
represent  ancestral  beings  that  once  lived  at  a  pueblo  (now  a  ruin), 
Winema,  not  far  from  the  junction  of  the  Little  Colorado  and  Zuni 
rivers.  Although  these  beings  have  the  same  name  at  Zuni  and 
Walpi,  it  is  not  necessarily  true  that  one  order  was  derived  from 
the  other.  It  is  more  probable  that  both  came  from  a  single  source 
—  one  of  the  ruined  pueblos  of  the  Little  Colorado.2 

The  shrine  of  the  Koyimsi  is  situated  near  a  great  rock  on  a 
sandy  hillock  to  the  right  of  the  road  from  Tawapa  to  Supela's 
house.  It  is  a  ring  of  small  stones  with  an  opening  looking  eastward. 

There  survives  on  the  East  mesa  a  persistent  tradition  that 
when  the  mission  at  Walpi  was  destroyed  in  1680,  the  altar  images, 
or  "  santos,"  were  hidden  in  the  sand  near  this  shrine,  but  exactly 
where  no  one  now  knows,  although  all  the  old  men  agree  that  the 
burial  site  was  not  far  from  Sun  spring. 

Hutciobi.  —  As  the  visitor  approaches  Walpi  from  the  north  the 
mesa  narrows  and  descends  a  few  steps,  to  rise  again  as  one  enters 

1  The  Pleasure  dance  figured  by  Mrs  Stevenson  (pi.  LXXXI,  Twenfy-third Rep.  Bur. 
Am.  Ethnol. )  is  a  Buffalo  dance  introduced  by  the  Hopi. 

8  The  Koyimsi  cult  at  Zuni  dates  back  to  the  earliest  times  of  which  the  tribal  tradi 
tions  speak.  It  is  old  at  Walpi  also,  where  it  was  introduced  by  clans  from  the  south. 

AM.  ANTH.,  N.  S.f  8 — 24. 


FEWKES]  HO  PI  SHRINES  NEAR    THE  EAST  MESA  366 

the  pueblo.  This  constriction  of  the  mesa  has  caused  the  trail  to 
narrow  and  the  worn  surface  of  the  rock  shows  clearly  the  marks 
of  the  many  footsteps  that  daily  pass  over  it.  On  one  side  of  the 
narrowed  trail  (pi.  xxvn,  fig.  /)  is  a  small  overhanging  ledge  of 
rocks  under  which  one  can  generally  find  prayer  sticks  and  other 
offerings.  This  is  a  favorite  place  for  the  prayer  offerings  of  the 
Warrior  society,  who  perform  similar  devotions  at  Momtcita,  their 
ceremony  occurring  in  December.  On  the  trail  at  this  point  is 
commonly  placed  a  string  to  which  is  tied  a  feather ;  the  two  are 
called  a  "road"  and  are  used  as  symbols  indicating  that  a  cere 
mony  is  about  to  begin  1  or  is  in  progress  in  the  pueblo.  The  trail 
is  then  said  symbolically  to  be  open,  whereas  when  the  string  is  laid 
across  it,  the  trail  is  ceremonially  closed. 

Atutuskia.  —  This  shrine  is  situated  near  Syskiamu's  house,  to 
the  right  of  the  road  in  foothills  east  of  the  mesa. 

Niman  Katcina  Shrine.  —  This  important  shrine  is  situated  near 
the  southern  end  of  the  mesa  on  the  east  side  just  below  the  level 
of  the  terrace.  It  is  inclosed  by  a  number  of  flat  stones  set  on 
edge,  forming  the  sides,  and  covered  by  a  thin  slab  of  rock.  This 
covering  is  removed  in  July  at  the  celebration  of  the  Niman  Ka 
tcina,  when  offerings  are  placed  in  the  shrine  as  has  been  described 
elsewhere.2  The  Niman  celebrates  the  departure  of  ancestral  gods 
called  katcinas,  who  are  supposed  to  live  in  the  under-world,  the 
entrance  to  which  is  the  sun  house  in  the  west.  The  shrine  here 
described  is  symbolic  of  that  abode. 

Kalalini.  —  This  shrine,  which  is  situated  on  the  mesa  top,  half 
way  between  Hano  and  Sichomovi,  is  a  simple  uncovered  circle  of 
stones,  without  contents.  Novices  are  said  to  make  their  offerings 
here  at  the  time  of  the  New  Fire  ceremony. 

Tubpaka. —  A  small  simple  shrine  to  be  found  on  the  east  edge 
of  the  mesa  near  Sichomovi. 

Hombiki.  — This  shrine  is  situated  in  front  of  Tebewysi's  house 
in  Sichomovi.  Novices  of  the  priesthoods  called  Tataukyamu, 


1  The  speaker-chief  generally  places  a  stringed  feather  at  this  place  after  he  has  pub 
licly  announced. a  ceremony. 

2  Jour.  Am.  Archaol.  and  Ethnol.,  n,  1892. 


367  AMERICAN  ANTHROPOLOGIST  [x.  s.,  8,  1906 

Wiiwiitcimtu,  and  Kwakwantu  are  said  to  make  offerings  in  this 
shrine  at  the  New  Fire  ceremony. 

Talatinka.  — This  is  the  sun  shrine  of  Walpi  in  which  offerings 
are  placed  at  the  Winter  Solstice  and  at  other  ceremonies  of  the  Sun 
priests.  The  novices  of  the  Kwakwantia  likewise  are  said  to  make 
offerings  here  at  the  New  Fire  ceremonies.  The  site  of  these  de 
votions  is  about  halfway  between  Walpi  and  Sichomovi,  on  the  east 
rim  of  the  mesa,  above  the  trail.  A  Navaho  home  formerly  stood 
not  far  distant.  At  the  Winter  Solstice  ceremony  this  shrine  is 
generally  filled  with  prayer  sticks,  some  double,  others  curved  at 
one  end,  the  latter  being  offerings  of  certain  societies  introduced  by 
Patki  and  other  southern  clans. 

Tir^anacabi.  —  This  shrine,  bearing  the  same  name  as  the  tradi 
tional  pueblo  *  west  of  Oraibi,  where  the  Badger  people  lived  when 
the  katcinas  emerged  from  the  under-world,  is  very  sacred  to  the 
Walpians.  It  is  situated  in  the  foothills  due  south  of  the  end  of 
the  mesa.  In  form  this  shrine  is  simple  —  a  circle  of  stones  with 
the  opening  facing  the  east,  having  on  the  west  side  the  large  rock 
so  common  in  Hopi  simple  shrines.  There  is  no  idol  or  other 
sacred  image  here,  but  prayer  offerings  are  rarely  wanting.  Offer 
ings  of  the  following  kind  were  observed  there  just  after  the  cele 
bration  of  the  Flute  ceremony  in  the  winter  of  1900. 

The  most  important  of  these  were  two  prayer  sticks  dedicated 
to  Cotokinunwu,  a  sky  supernatural,  introduced  into  Walpi  by  the 
Flute  and  Patki  families,  who  formerly  lived  near  the  Little  Colo 
rado,  south  of  Walpi.  It  appears  from  tradition  and  from  a  study 
of  ceremonials  that  the  Hopi  conception  of  Cotokinunwu  was  the 
highest  ideal  of  a  Sky  god  attained  by  the  development  of  their  own 
religion  ;  when  they  learned  of  monotheism  from  Christian  mission 
aries,  they  immediately  identified  the  latter's  deity  with  their 
own  greatest  god.  The  offerings  made  as  prayers  to  this  being  are 
occasionally  called  by  the  Hopi,  when  speaking  to  white  people, 
"Jesus  pahos." 


1  The  custom  of  naming  kivas  or  shrines  after  ruins  is  not  uncommon  among  the 
Hopi.  Thus  Monkiva  was  formerly  called  Pakatcomo,  from  the  ruin  of  that  name 
marking  the  place  where  the  Patki  once  lived.  There  was  also  at  one  tirne  a  kiva  on  the 
East  mesa  called  Homolobi  for  a  similar  reason. 


FEWKESJ  HOPI  SHRINES  NEAR    THE  EAST  MESA  368 

The  best  idol  of  Cotokinunwu  known  to  me  is  that  on  the  altar 
of  the  Flute  priesthood  at  Oraibi.  It  apparently  represents  a  bird- 
snake  concept,  the  head  having  a  curved  apical  extension,  remind 
ing  one  of  some  of  the  Mexican  pictures  of  Quetzalcoatl.  Its  wings 
are  conventionally  made  and  the  two  long  legs  are  decorated  with 
the  zigzag  lightning  symbols  of  the  Plumed  Serpent.  Certain  of  the 
characteristics  of  the  same  Serpent  god,  as  rain-bringing  and  thun 
der-making,  suggest  the  attributal  name  Thunder  Bird  or  God  of 
Thunder  applied  to  this  being,  but  the  image  is  rather  that  of  the 
horned  than  of  a  feathered  serpent  god  ;  the  cult  of  the  latter,  it  will 
be  remembered,  reached  a  complicated  development  in  southern 
and  eastern  Mexico. 

The  idol  of  Cotokinunwu  on  one  of  the  altars  of  the  Flute  fra 
ternity  of  Oraibi  gives  an  excellent  idea  of  the  Hopi  concept  of  this 
bird-snake  supernatural,  and  we  have  also  good  material  in  the 
paraphernalia  and  idols  of  the  Patki  clans  from  which  to  study  his 
variant.  In  this  case,  as  shown  by  the  effigies  of  the  Plumed  Ser 
pent  employed  in  the  Winter  Solstice,  the  snake  element  predomi 
nates,  but  there  is  still  found  the  survival  of  the  bird  element  and 
the  Sky  god  conception.  The  Kwakwantu,  a  warrior  brotherhood 
of  these  clans,  wear  helmets  with  the  curved  horns  characteristic  of 
Cotokinunwu1  and  carry  in  their  hands  wooden  slats  curved  in  the 
form  of  small  plumed  serpents. 

The  offerings  of  the  Flute  chief  to  Cotokinunwu  are  made  in  the 
Tuwanacabi  shrine  and  are  flat  double  prayer  sticks  tied  side  by  side, 
each  with  a  face  painted  on  one  end,  and  pointed  at  the  other.  Each 
stick  has  a  packet  of  meal  and  a  feather  tied  about  midway  of  its 
length.  In  addition  to  the  offerings  to  the  God  of  the  Sky  there 
were  noticed  in  this  shrine  many  green  prayer  sticks.  These  were 
about  the  length  of  the  finger  and  were  deposited  by  the  Flute 
priests  to  bring  rain.  The  numerous  other  prayer  sticks  of  this 
kind  that  occur  in  this  shrine  are  offerings  of  former  years.  Bancroft  Library 

There  was  also  in  the  same  shrine  a  small  prayer  stick  made  of 
two  parts  tied  together.  Both  of  the  components  were  without 
facet  but  one  was  painted  yellow  and  the  other  green.  This  was 


1  The  Plumed  Snake  symbols  in  this  idol  are  indicated  elsewhere.    The  curved  horn 
of  Cotokinunwu  recalls  that  on  some  images  of  Quetzalcoatl. 


369  AMERICAN  ANTHROPOLOGIST  [N.  s.,  8,  1906 

an  offering  of  Naka,  the  chief  of  the  Katcina  clan,  to  .his  ancestral 
gods.  The  shrine  contained  also  numerous  single  sticks  painted 
black,  placed  there  by  the  Snake  priesthood. 

Lalakon  Shrine. — When  in  their  wanderings  from  the  south  the 
Patki  people  arrived  in  the  valley  now  called  the  Walpi  wash,  they 
were  invited  to  exhibit  to  the  Walpians  their  magic  power  in  caus 
ing  rain  and  lightning.  This  exhibition  took  place  near  the  spring 
Tawapa  which,  on  that  account,  became  sacred  to  them.  Two 
societies  of  priests,  called  the  Lakone  sorority  and  the  Kwakwantu 
fraternity,  were  introduced  into  Walpi  at  that  time.  Both  of  these 
priesthoods  have  shrines  at  or  near  Tawapa. 

Sowinakabu. — The  Rabbit-ear  shrine  is  situated  just  below  the 
terrace  at  the  side  of  the  trail  from  Walpi  to  Tawapa. 

Unatanopi.  —  This  is  the  shrine  that  contains  or  covers  the  heart 
of  the  mythic  Hawk  (Kica),  and  in  this  connection  the  following 
story  is  repeated :  In  prehistoric  times  Kica  (Hawk)  and  Tciibio 
(Deer)  tested  their  powers  by  running  a  race.1  Hawk  was  very 
fleet,  but  Deer  prayed  for  rain,  which  fell  in  torrents  and  drenched 
Hawk's  wings  so  that  he  flew  with  difficulty  and  but  slowly.  Hawk 
lost  the  race  and  Tciibio  slew  him,  cutting  out  his  heart  and  bury 
ing  it  in  this  place.  As  Hawk  expired,  he  murmured  that  all  youths 
who  should  pray  at  the  shrine  where  his  heart  is  buried  should  be 
fleet  of  foot.  Hence  foot  racers  often  deposit  their  offerings  at 
Unatanopi. 

Talaviwa. —  This  shrine  is  situated  on  the  north  end  of  the 
mesa,  back  of  Hano  and  just  above  the  gap.  Near  it  are  the  grooves 
where  the  warriors  rested  their  arrows  when  they  shot  at  the  Utes 
or  other  hostiles  coming  up  the  trail.  The  shrine  contains  a  few 
fossil  logs  or  fragments  of  silicified  wood. 

Moniva. —  This  devotional  spot  is  situated  just  north  of  the  main 
building  at  Hano  and,  like  the  shrine  at  the  gap,  contains  a  coiled 
stone.  When  visited,  many  Hano  prayer  sticks  (p* dope)  and  feath 
ered  strings  (pelatciyi)  were  found. 

Sheep  Shrines. —  In  almost  every  Hopi  sheep  corral  there  is  a 
place  where  clay  images  of  the  animal  are  placed  as  prayers  for  the 


1  The  idea  of  testing  the  relative  power  of  magic  forces  by  racing  is  truly  aboriginal. 


FEWKES]  HO  PI  SHRINES  NEAR    THE   EAST  MESA  370 

increase  of  domestic  animals.  These  images  are  commonly  made  in 
the  Winter  Solstice  ceremony  and  in  the  Warrior  festival  that  fol 
lows  it.  During  the  former  celebration  prayers  are  made  to  Mu- 
yinwu  for  the  increase  of  everything  the  Hopi  desire,  and  at  that  time 
wish  or  prayer  feathers  are  tied  to  peach  trees,  wagons,  legs  of 
chickens,  tails  of  horses  and  burros,  and  to  every  other  possession  of 
the  Hopi.  Like  prayer  offerings  are  placed  in  all  the  shrines  and 
at  every  spring. 

The  sheep  shrines  lie  on  the  east  or  sunny  side  of  the  mesa, 
about  halfway  from  the  terrace  to  the  rim,  and  were  placed  at  that 
point  as  a  protection  against  coyotes  and  marauding  Indians.  Of 
late  other  corrals  have  been  constructed  on  the  terrace,  which  offers 
a  larger  space  than  the  tajus  of  the  mesa. 

SPRINGS  AS  SHRINES 

In  a  general  way  every  spring  is  supposed  to  be  sacred  and 
therefore  a  place  for  the  deposit  of  prayer  sticks  and  other  offerings. 
Some  of  these  springs,  as  Tawapa  and  Monwiba,  are  supposed  to  be 
specially  consecrated  to  the  Great  Serpent  or  Sun,  others  to  some 
lower  divinity,  but  every  spring  is  a  place  of  worship  and  hence  a 
shrine.  There  are  many  springs  near  the  East  mesa,  some  of  which 
still  flow;  others  have  been  filled  with  drifting  sand  and,  although 
no  longer  yielding  water,  are  still  places  where  offerings  are  made. 
It  requires  constant  diligence  to  keep  the  springs  from  filling  with 
sand,  and  from  time  to  time,  under  direction  of  the  village  chief,  the 
male  population  dig  out  the  sand  that  has  drifted  into  them. 

Near  distant  ruins  are  likewise  traditional  springs  from  which 
water  is  obtained  for  use  in  certain  rites  or  ceremonial  proceedings. 
When  water  is  thus  obtained,  prayer  offerings  are  customarily  de 
posited.  While  the  majority  of  springs  are  dedicated  simply  to  the 
Rain  gods,  a  few  are  special  homes  of  a  Germ  god,  the  Sun,  or  the 
Plumed  Serpent,  or  all  combined. 

Some  of  the  largest  springs  are  believed  to  be  inhabited  by 
supernatural  beings.  The  Great  Plumed  Snake  is  supposed  to  live 
under  the  Sun  spring  and  offerings  to  him  are  made  at  that  place.1 


1  Springs  are  often  regarded  as  homes  of  the  gods  and  sometimes  as  entrances  to  the 
under-world,  where  divinized  personages  dwell,  or  as  windows  out  of  which  they  look. 


3/1  AMERICAN  ANTHROPOLOGIST  [N.  s.,  8,  1906 

In  the  Flute  ceremony  a  prayer  stick  is  biennially  deposited  with 
ceremony  in  the  bed  of  the  same  spring  by  a  man  who  sinks  under 
the  water  for  that  purpose.  Water  from  sacred  springs,  especially 
those  associated  with  early  migrations,  is  deemed  most  efficacious  in 
medicine  making.  Several  springs  are  supposed  to  have  been  miracu 
lously  formed  by  early  chiefs,  who  on  that  account  have  come  to  be 
regarded  as  supernatural  personages. 

Ispa. —  This  spring  is  situated  near  the  main  trail  from  the  plain 
to  the  gap,  Wala,  and  lies  just  above  the  neighboring  peach  trees. 
It  has  a  heavy  flow  and  is  capable  of  supplying  the  water  for  all  the 
three  villages  as  well  as  for  the  houses  clustered  about  it.  A  large 
number  of  prayer  sticks  are  always  to  be  found  below  an  overhang 
ing  roof  in  the  rear  of  this  spring  at  the  edge  of  the  water. 

Unpa. —  This  spring,  now  filled  with  drifted  sand,  is  on  the  south 
side  of  the  hill  called  Sikyaowatcomo,  the  site  of  an  early  settle 
ment  of  the  Hano.  Although  now  no  longer  used,  offerings  are 
sometimes  placed  in  the  sand  above  the  spring,  thus  keeping  up  an 
old  practice.  Except  from  this  custom  and  from  traditions,  no  one 
would  know  that  there  ever  was  a  spring  at  this  place. 

Wipo,  which  lies  on  the  west  side  of  the  East  mesa,  a  short  dis 
tance  north  of  Kanelba,  is  one  of  the  finest  springs  in  the  Hopi 
country.  It  is  a  place  of  offering  for  several  societies,  among  the 
most  important  of  which  is  the  Flute.  There  are  terraced  gardens 
and  evidences  of  house  walls  near  this  spring,  indicating  a  consid 
erable  ancient  population  in  the  neighborhood. 

Winpa.  —  Site  of  a  spring  a  few  miles  north  of  Sikyatki,  near  a 
ruin  once  occupied  by  the  Katcina  people.  This  spring,  once  strong, 
is  now  dry  and  filled  with  sand.  Its  walls  are  made  of  well-dressed 
stone  laid  in  circular  form.  Near  this  spring  are  walls  of  an  old 
pueblo  of  small  size. 

Kwastapa.  — This  is  one  of  the  springs  on  the  west  side  of  the 
East  mesa  at  which  the  Flute  and  other  fraternities  deposit  their 
offerings.  Like  Wipo  and  Kanelba,  it  was  a  halting-place  in  the 
migrations  of  the  Flute  clans  and  is  supposed  to  be  of  mythic  origin. 

Kahabipa. — This  water,  labeled  on  our  maps  Comar  spring, 
takes  its  name  from  Koma,  a  Hopi  who  is  said  to  have  once  had  a 
house  near  it. 


FEWKES]  HO  PI  SHRINES  NEAR    THE  EAST  MESA  372 

Kahabiobi.  —  Little  is  known  of  this  spring  except  that  it  is  near 
the  one  just  described  or  between  it  and  the  Hopi  butte. 

Sipi.  —  This  spring  fe  'iioti  far  fsom  the  Hopi  butte  (Custapofi- 
tukwi)  and  is  visited  By  the 'chiefs'  of  the  Kwakwantu  for  water 
used  in  the  Kew  Ffire  ceremony;  ^nd  the  Winter  Solstice  ceremony. 
To  it  novices  oFthi3  fraternity  ai'o  sent- in  ihcir  initiation  ceremonies. 
The  Patki  and  other  southern  peoples  stopped  at  this  spring  in  their 
migration  northward  from  Homolobi  or  the  settlements  along  the 
Little  Colorado. 

Cakwaskpa.  —  A  small  spring  near  the  Giant's  Chair. 

Hutcliimopa.  —  A  feeble  spring  in  the  plain  below  Walpi. 
There  is  another  spring  of  the  same  name  not  far  from  Sikyatki. 

Monwiba. — This  large  spring,  situated  near  the  trail  leading 
from  the  plain  to.Hano,  on  the  right  hand  side,  is  dedicated  to  the 
Hano  Plumed  Serpent,  Avaiyo.  It  is  one  of  the  few  large  walled 
springs  with  a  pathway  leading  down  to  the  water.  Monwiba  was 
dug  out  within  a  few  years  ;  at  the  time  a  festival  was  held,  the 
workmen  personating  the  Snow  Katcina  wearing  masks  on  which 
were  depicted  the  heads  of  plumed  serpents.  In  the  March  drama 
tization,  exercises  are  performed  at  this  spring  with  the  effigies  of 
the  Great  Serpent  of  Hano.  Tawapa  is  the  home  of  the  Walpi 
Plumed  Snake  ;  Monwiba,  of  that  of  the  Hano. 

Amipa.  —  A  small  spring  used  by  farmers  and  others,  but  situ 
ated  far  from  the  pueblos  and  consequently  available  only  occasion 
ally  for  drinking  purposes. 

Sikyatkipa.  —  This  is  the  old  spring  of  the  ancient  Sikyatki,  the 
Kokop  pueblo,  from  which  the  former  inhabitants  of  that  town  ob 
tained  their  drinking  water.  At  present  the  water  is  not  potable 
but  offerings  are  still  placed  on  the  edges  of  the  spring  by  the  chief 
of  the  Kokop  clan. 

Tawapa.  —  The  great  Walpi  Sun  spring,  situated  at  the  foot  of 
the  mesa,  east  of  Sichomovi.  When  I  first  visited  it,  in  1890,  there 
was  not  a  single  house  in  the  neighborhood  and  the  surroundings 
were  in  a  perfectly  natural  condition.  Lately,  the  day  school  was 
built  near  Tawapa  and  the  name  of  the  latter  was  changed.  Tawapa 
is  supposed  to  be  the  home  of  the  Plumed  Serpent,  and  the  Lala- 
kontu,  Kwakwantu,  and  Flute  priesthoods  use  water  from  it  in 


373  AMERICAN  ANTHROPOLOGIST  [N.  s.,  8,  1906 

certain  ceremonies.  The  Patki  family  are  said  to  have  camped 
near  it  after  they  left  Pakatcomo,  their  last  pueblo  before  reaching 
Walpi,  and  here  they  performed  the  -ekes  r'that  caused  the  mist  to 
come  and  produced  the  lightning  that  so  frightened  the  women  of 
Walpi.  Tawapa'^s  much  jr^veyencjsld  tay*trre»Fluie;'people  also,  who, 
like  the  Patki,  came  from  1»he  south1/  mid  herethey  perform  biennially 
one  of  their  most  impressive  ceremonies,  in  the  course  of  which 
their  chief  sinks  under  the  water  and  there  deposits  prayer  sticks.1 

Tatacpa.  —  This  spring  lies  near  the  coffin-shaped  butte  in  full 
sight  southeast  of  Walpi. 

Numupa.  —  This  spring  is  situated  at  the  entrance  to  Keams 
canyon,  on  the  right  hand  side.  It  yields  an  abundant  supply  of 
water,  the  flow  having  been  much  augmented  by  the  care  bestowed 
on  the  spring. 

Tovovepa.  —  This  good  spring  also  is  situated  at  the  entrance  to 
Keams  canyon. 

Other  Springs.  —  In  addition  to  the  places  of  prayer  above  men 
tioned,  the  Hopi  deposit  prayer  objects  at  the  following  springs  : 
Kanelba,  Hokonaba,  Muzriba,  Pehuba,  Wukokoba,  Honaupa, 
Pisaba,  Anwucba,  Yoyainiba,  Yapa,  Kokyanba,  Tubuskia,  Anapu- 
laba,  Yohopa,  Takaplapi,  Pepsiba,  and  the  four  springs  near  old 
Awatobi  called  Lenoba,  Tetuiba,  Pisaba,  and  Tciibpa.  The  fore 
going  list  shows  that  the  East  mesa  Hopi  have  many  springs,  and 
that  the  duty  of  supplying  the  water  with  prayer  offerings  accounts 
for  the  activity  of  the  people  in  making  offerings. 

If  we  accept  the  broad  definition  of  a  shrine  as  a  place  of 
worship,  naturally  such  rooms  as  kivas  should  not  be  omitted.  For 
obvious  reasons  these  are  not  included  in  this  account. 

I  cannot  pass  by  certain  sacred  places  especially  reverenced  by 
particular  clans,  a  typical  example  of  which  was  called  to  my  atten 
tion  by  the  governor  of  Walpi  about  six  months  after  the  great 
smallpox  epidemic  in  1899.  During  my  work  at  Walpi  in  1900, 
Hani  told  me  one  evening  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  East  mesa 
were  much  troubled  because  the  mythic  Badger  had  emerged  from 
the  under-world  and  was  digging  up  the  graves  of  those  who  had 

*Jour.  Am.  Ethnol.  and  Archaol.,  II.  It  is  claimed  by  some  of  the  Hopi  that 
these  southern  clans  introduced  into  \Valpi  the  custom  of  making  prayer  sticks. 


FEWKES]  HO  PI  SHRINES  NEAR    THE   EAST  MESA  374 

died  of  smallpox  the  preceding  year.  Hani  declared  also  that  the 
stone  that  usually  covered  the  shrine  of  Badger  had  been  removed 
to  allow  the  inmate  to  leave  his  home  in  the  under-world.1  It  was 
then  discovered  that  some  shrines  were  practically  symbols  of  the 
entrance  to  the  under-world  realm  of  the  dead,  and  regarded  in  the 
same  way  as  springs  or  kivas. 

TRAPS  MISTAKEN  FOR  SHRINES 

Among  several  constructions  in  or  near  Hopi  pueblos,  ancient 
and  modern,  that  have  been  mistaken  for  shrines,  may  be  mentioned 
coyote  pitfalls  and  rabbit  traps  ;  one  of  the  former,  from  near  Sikyatki, 
is  figured  in  the  accompanying  illustration  (pi.  xxvi,  fig.  c).  As  here 
shown  the  construction  consists  of  three  flat  stones  set  upright  on 
edge,  forming  a  box  with  one  side  and  the  top  open.  The  missing  side 
gives  entrance  to  the  trap  and  the  upper  stone  is  seen  through  the 
opening.  When  the  trap  is  set,  this  upper  stone  is  weighted,  and 
propped  up  with  a  stick  to  which  is  attached  a  piece  of  meat  or  a 
rabbit,  and  the  coyote  in  pulling  out  the  prop  causes  this  stone  to 
fall  on  its  head.  Similar  traps  occur  about  ancient  ruins  and  have 
sometimes  been  mistaken  for  shrines. 

CONCLUSION 

It  is  not  intended  to  consider  in  the  preceding  pages  all  shrines 
and  springs  about  the  East  mesa,  but  rather  to  show  the  importance 
of  many  of  them  in  the  study  of  Hopi  archeology.  Ownership  in 
shrines  and  springs,  like  that  in  eagles'  nests,  is  hereditary  in  clans 
among  the  Hopi.  The  right  to  a  spring  is  one  of  the  most  ancient 
of  all  ownerships  in  realty.  So  sacred  are  these  places  to  the  Hopi 
that  they  are  associated  with  tribal  gods  and  clan  tutelaries ;  conse 
quently,  proprietorship  in  them  is  not  abandoned  even  when  the 
clans  in  their  migrations  seek  new  building  sites. 

It  is  desirable  that  those  engaged  in  the  study  of  Southwestern 
archeology  should  pay  particular  attention  to  the  shrines  in  the 
immediate  neighborhood  of  ruins,  and,  where  possible,  gather  all 


1  Nothing  would  induce  Hani  to  accompany  me  to  this  shrine,  or  sipapu,  of  Badger. 
I  have  never  seen  it,  but  have  had  it  described  by  several  Hopi  whose  descriptions  recall 
the  katcina  shrine  used  in  the  Niman. 


375  AMERICAN  ANTHROPOLOGIST  [N.  s.,  8,  1906 

significant  information  regarding  their  use  in  modern  times  or  since 
the  ruins  were  deserted.  This  knowledge,  taken  in  connection 
with  legends  of  migrations,  will  aid  in  an  identification  of  clan  affil 
iations  of  former  inhabitants  of  our  Southwestern  ruins.  Although 
in  most  instances  these  shrines  are  now  little  more  than  rings  01 
stones,  occasionally  an  offering  is  found  in  them  that  reveals  the 
presence  of  reverence  in  some  mind,  and  it  is  generally  true  that  the 
one  who  made  this  offering  is  related  in  some  way  to  former  inhab 
itants  of  the  neighboring  pueblo. 

BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY, 
WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 


